Mentorship is VERY much needed in the business world. You just need to know how to find mentors, engage with them and build successful relationships with them. That’s what I discussed in this episode with Matt Granados.

Matt is an international coach and trainer working with individuals and teams to increase bandwidth, increase motivation, and minimize stress.  This ranges from CEOs of billion-dollar companies to individuals trying to get back to where they want to be. Matt and his team have created programs for individuals to get the exact results they desire in all areas of life.

The first thing that Matt shares is that having a mentor is like going to a buffet, you don’t have to eat everything. When it comes to advice, pick what you like and take action with it while leaving behind the advice that doesn’t resonate with you. Why leave things behind? Because you’ll never find a perfect person who has all the answers. This means that you shouldn’t put your mentors on pedestals because if you do, they’ll fall down. Nobody can be everything to everyone. One caveat? You should be open minded when it comes to what you can learn from your mentors, even if it’s tough love that you might not want to hear.

How Do You Find Mentors?

With most of Matt’s mentor/mentee relationships there was never a formal agreement that they were in a mentoring relationship. That agreement wasn’t needed. How do you know when someone is your mentor? When they respond to your emails. When they take interest in what you’re doing. Then you’ll know that you have a mentor and that it happened organically.

A BIG mentoring tip: Don’t try to engage with someone to create a mentoring relationship just because that person is famous or successful. Seek out people that have done what you want to do so you can find out 1) is it really what you want to do, 2) how do they accomplished it, 3) what did they sacrifice to get there and 4) if you really want to do what they’ve done and, when needed, sacrifice what they’ve sacrificed to do what you think  you want to do.

How to Create Successful Mentoring Experiences

One day Matt’s wife pointed out to him that he didn’t have any physical goals – even though his company is all about vitality. So, he “accepted her challenge” and signed up for an Iron Man competition. The first thing Matt did was to find someone that completed an Iron Man in the World championship and got the person to coach him. The tip for you? Find people that have done what you want to do and have done it WELL. Then talk with them and ask them how they did it. If they share advice that you don’t necessarily agree with, prove them right instead of wrong. As Matt told me about his Iron Man mentor – who is Matt to say that someone’s wrong who has successfully done something that Matt wants to do?

Take your mentor’s advice, implement that advice, get a result, and then bring that result back to them. You’ll either: Share that you followed through with what they told you to do and didn’t get the right results – and then ask, “What else can I do?” Or you’ll share that you tried what they told you to do and succeeded and ask, “Now what do I need to do to get to the next level?”

Either way you’re on a mission to move beyond the results that you’re currently getting to get new, and better, results with the proper guidance.

Listen In!

During the rest of this episode we discuss:

Why mentee should guide the relationship, not the mentor.
The four things that you need to come into a mentoring relationship ready to do.
When and why you should put mentoring relationships on pause or end them.
The sure-fire way to destroy a mentoring relationship and what NOT to do.
How to respect your mentor’s time AND get more of their time for calls.